Which to use
“berühren” is a verb and “berührten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,512
- “berühren” frequency rank
- #47,258
- “berührten” frequency rank
- 53770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | berühren | berührten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit dem Äußeren seines Körpers mit einer Sache oder einer Person in Kontakt kommen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs berührt |
Where the eye mixes berühren and berührten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. berühren runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against berührten's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses berühren with berührten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berühren is [bəˈʁyːʁən] while berührten is [bəˈʁyːɐ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
berühren is recorded at frequency rank #6,512, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁən]. berührten is at rank #47,258, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁyːɐ̯tn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 53770, this pair ranks #1,044,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of berühren vs berührten
Shared letters: behnrü. Private to "berühren": -. Private to "berührten": t.
"berühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "berührten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "berühren" and "berührten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "berühren" vs "berührten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "berühren" and "berührten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "berühren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "berührten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,044,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "berühren" and "berührten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berührend vs berührten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,044,892 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.